By William Coleman
Keeping fit is so important, especially as we are all getting a little bit older each year. For beginners, start with a walk or a jog. For the more experienced among us why not get a motorhome from Travelworld and go on an ultra marathon like 62 year old runner Keith Robinson.
Keith Robins, who is a seasoned ultra distance runner at the age of 62, recently took to the road in Travelworld’s Carado T447 to try his hand, or feet, at the formidable 95 mile West Highland Way Race.
After hitting the 20 mile mark, something I could never do, Keith unfortunately took a tumble and hurt his leg. That did not stop Keith from jumping up and carrying on but he was unable to complete the race and the injury was a bit to server to carry up.
Keith astonishingly solidered further 51 miles while being hurt, such an amazing effort. Once the race was all said and done Keith raised £1000 for Shropshire, Staffordshire and Cheshire Blood Bikes and has not ruled out taking part in the race again next year.
This gruelling challenge starts at Milngavie, near Glasgow and through six checkpoints leading all the way to Fort William in the Scottish Highlands. This was not Keith’s first experience with this marathon as he toppled the challenge twice before. No stranger to extreme challenges Keith also took part in, and finished, the 250km Marathon des Sables, (a seven-day race across the Moroccan Sahara) where he raised £19,500 for charity.
Keith said: “Not finishing this time does not diminish my overall enjoyment and love of the event and I think you need to experience both finishing and not finishing to fully appreciate the spirit of the WHW Race.
“Having the motorhome on the trip was a big advantage, entirely suited to the wide-open spaces of the Scottish Highlands which the Race route passes through. The finishes in the Carado were first class and the garage storage at the rear, we found a particularly positive feature.
We stowed a bike (the Carado comes with a 2-bike rack) but there were masses of room for the kit bags and boxes too and inside the Carado is like a tardis for storage with plenty under the fixed beds and in the various wall cupboards.
“The fridge was plenty big enough for our weekend supplies. Very simple to use – once you remember what you were told at handover, i.e. 240v only works on hook-up! We were all very impressed with the pull-down bed which drops down with the click of a button but wasn’t needed on this trip.”
Ross Edwards, managing director of Travelworld said: “It was a pleasure to help Keith and his crew, and we’re glad the Carado did such a sterling job in helping him raise money for Blood Bikes.”
This is another fantastic example of the touring industry making charity fundraising easier with the use of a touring home. Motorhomes are such a fantastic tool for any hobbyist or action tourer.
